TPPA Ministers set to make crucial IP decisions this weekend

TPPA
Ministers set to make crucial IP decisions this weekend in
Singapore

The intellectual property chapter of
the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement that Wikileaks
posted in November signalled over 100 areas of disagreement.
Those ‘square brackets’ have been rapidly disappearing
in the lead-up to the ministerial meeting in Singapore this
weekend, according to Professor Jane Kelsey, who is in
Singapore monitoring the negotiations.

‘By the start of
the officials’ meetings on Monday the 100-plus points of
disagreement in last year’s intellectual property text had
already been whittled away. I understand there have been
further major decisions already this week, even before the
ministers meet’, Kelsey said.

‘There is talk about the
US making compromises and showing flexibility. This is an
old trick. They set the original threshold outrageously
high. Then they agree to “concessions” that are still
far beyond the status quo. The result is new rules that
profit Big Pharma at the expense of access to affordable
medicines and protection of public health’.

One of the
most crucial remaining decisions for TPPA ministers is the
US demand for new rules that would give the pharmaceutical
companies longer monopoly terms, including for patents, and
delay the entry of new generic medicines to treat diseases
like cancer and diabetes.

News reports say the US
presented a proposal in Salt Lake City that sought 12 years
of exclusivity, as applies in the US. Other countries laws
currently allow for 8 years, as in Japan, 5 years as in
Chile or Australia, or none, as in Peru and Vietnam. That
proposal post-dated the Wikileaks text.

‘While the
details are, of course, secret, the strong sense here is
that the parties will settle on eight years, if they
haven’t already - hardly a “concession” from the US
end,’ Kelsey observed.

‘That would significantly
squeeze Pharmac’s budget in the future or mean that New
Zealand patients have to pay these high prices for the
latest medicines’.

Other crucial intellectual property
issues likely to be decided at the ministerial are:-
Data exclusivity for new uses/formulations for old
substances- Patent term extensions to cover the
processing period for patent applications- Patent
linkage of marketing approval to existing patents-
Extension of copyright terms from life of the author + 50
years to life + 70 years.

Professor Kelsey recalled how
‘last November, we were reassured that the leaked IP text
showed New Zealand’s negotiators were holding the line to
protect our ability to decide our own health
policy.’

‘Moving beyond that long-held position will
mean the government has capitulated to the US.’

‘Trade
minister Groser has no choice. He must put New Zealanders’
health first by refusing to accept any of the US demands.
And he must show us the outcome of the ministerial meeting
so we can hold him accountable for his
actions’.

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